Below are the best leg workouts. They’re everything you need to get your stems ready for those short hemlines.

Squats

The secret to having complete leg workouts is performing compound exercises. Compound exercises are ones that require multiple muscles to perform correctly.

Squats are the most fundamental exercise you can do for you whole lower body. It utilizes nearly every muscle group in your legs while also developing the core and strengthening the back.

Start by standing with legs shoulder-width apart. Keep your body straight and push your bum out as you bend at your knees. To keep proper form, visualize sitting back in a chair.

Squat down until your bum is even with your knees and then, pushing through your feet, return to the standing position.

If you can’t get down to a 90? angle, don’t worry about it. As long as you stick to your routine you will develop the strength over time.

If you can bring your upper-legs parallel to the ground, go deeper. Just be sure to keep your bum out, body straight and knees above, not in front, of your toes.

Bonus – As you return to an upright position, push yourself up onto your toes and hold for the count of five. This helps further develop your calves, turning this exercise into a complete leg workout.

Lunges

Lunges are another comprehensive exercise, engaging your glutes, hips, hamstring, quads and calves when performed correctly. This makes them an essential component of a complete leg workout.

To do so, stand with your legs shoulder-width apart and take a large step forward. Drop down so that your legs are at a 90? angle, pushing your hips forward.

Then, push up through your front heel and return to a standing position.

Lunges can be done forwards, backwards and to the sides. Each variation benefits different muscles, so vary your routine. You can also do them as a cycle, giving you toned and balanced legs.

Heel Raises

To get a nice, curved calf, you need to target this muscle specifically. The above exercises depend on calves for stability, but unless you’re raising your heels, you’re not utilizing the entire range of muscle.

To use the full range of motion, place your toes on a small step, preferably only an inch or two high.

Stand shoulder-width apart with your toes on the step and raise your heels until your on your tip-toes. Lower your heels all the way down. Then repeat.

Make sure your knees stay straight and your body tall throughout the exercise.

The Complete Leg Workout

Leg days are often approached with reluctance. There’s something that seems less satisfying about developing our legs than our core or upper-body.

Yet our legs are fundamental to our overall strength and wellness. Not only that, but as our longest limbs, it pays to develop the muscles if we want to wow when in our summer-wear.

By breaking leg workouts into three simple compound exercises you can hit most muscles simultaneously, giving you long, strong and toned legs.